For Greenbrier, Another 2,900 Railcars
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
Greenbrier’s new orders comprise a “broad range of railcar types including gondolas, tanks, covered hoppers and automobile-carrying units, indicative of broader industry trends that reveal a resurgent North American freight railcar market,” the manufacturer said on Feb. 2.
The Greenbrier Companies, Inc., received orders for 2,900 new railcars, valued at $345 million, in December and January, the first two months of its second fiscal quarter that began Dec. 1, 2021; this follows first fiscal quarter orders for 6,300 cars.
The December and January orders “continue to reflect a broad range of railcar types including gondolas, tanks, covered hoppers and automobile-carrying units, indicative of broader industry trends that reveal a resurgent North American freight railcar market,” Greenbrier reported on Feb. 2.
The manufacturer announced last month orders for 6,300 cars, valued at $685 million, during an earnings presentation for its first fiscal quarter ending Nov. 31, 2021. Those orders boosted Greenbrier’s backlog to 28,000 units, valued at $3 billion.
The Railway Supply Institute (RSI) American Railway Car Institute Committee (ARCI) on Jan. 31 reported soaring railcar orders for the industry. It released data showing a 50% increase in North American freight railcar orders in the fourth calendar quarter of 2021, compared with the third calendar quarter of 2021. The 13,277 railcars ordered were said to represent the highest quarterly order number since fourth calendar-quarter 2018. Additionally, total industry backlog came in at 42,993 railcars, up 14% from 37,779 in 2021’s third calendar quarter. Industry book-to-bill now stands 1.7x, significantly above the 2021 third calendar quarter ratio of 1.0x, according to ARCI.
“Almost all orders announced today [Feb. 2] originated from North America where we have scaled our flexible manufacturing footprint to address the increasing levels of demand that we began preparing for months ago,” Greenbrier Chairman and CEO William A. Furman said. “Order activity for Greenbrier and industry-wide validates our recent investments in working capital to support the early stage of an extended recovery cycle for new railcar demand.”
